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The OSS now has a full child spy section, of which 13-year-old Carmen Cortez and 10-year-old Juni Cortez have become agents. They face particularly difficult competition with Gary and Gerti Giggles (Matt O'Leary and Emily Osment), the children of double-dealing agent Donnagon Giggles (Mike Judge), whom Carmen and Juni helped to rescue in the previous film. It is shown that Carmen defends Gary and has a crush on him.

After an incident at a local amusement park, where the President's daughter, Alexandra (Taylor Momsen) deliberately sabotages a thrill ride which juggles its passengers, forcing the Giggles and the Cortez kids to compete in the rescue. Donnagon, who has somehow hacked into the teleprompter which the President was reading from, is named the director of the OSS. Juni is fired after being framed by Gary, who was actually to blame, into losing the "Transmooker", a highly coveted device which can shut off all electronic devices. In his new position as director, Donnagon can carry on with his plan to steal the Transmooker, so he can rule the world.

After Carmen manages to hack into the database and reinstates Juni's level as an agent, she and Juni follow the trail to a mysterious island near Madagascar, which is home to Romero (Steve Buscemi), a lunatic scientist. Romero has been attempting to create genetically-miniaturized animals, so he can make a profit by selling the animals to kids in "miniature zoos". He had an experiment go wrong after accidentally pouring growth concoction onto the mutated set of animals, as a result, he is unwilling to leave the safety of his lab, out of fear of being eaten. When Carmen is captured by a Spork, a breed of flying pigs, she meets Gerti, who reveals to her that Gary is actually evil. Carmen changes her feelings for Gary and sides with Juni after Gary attempts to kill him. Meanwhile, Romero finds out that his creatures are much friendlier than he thought. After a number of action sequences, such as fighting skeletons and being captured by Sporks, the spy kids, along with the help of their family, Romero and Gerti Giggles, destroy the Transmooker and defeat Donnagon and Gary. Afterwards, Gregorio and Donnagon pathetically fight each other.

Donnagon is relieved by the President, Gary is fired, and Gregorio is appointed director of the OSS by Alexandra on her father's behalf, while Juni quits due to the impersonal treatment of agents by the OSS. As the Cortez family leaves the island, Romero gives Juni a miniature spider-monkey as a gift, and all the island's inhabitants bid farewell to the Cortez family. During the credits, Machete has Carmen sing as an undercover pop star in a concert. Carmen says she can't sing so Machete gives her a mic which auto-tunes her voice and a belt that helps her dance. He also gives Juni a guitar that plays itself. After the performance, Machete informs Carmen that he did not put the batteries in.

Despite the fact that this film uses over twice the amount of special effects shots than the first film, Robert Rodriguez did not ask the producers for a larger budget; he said[3] "...I told the studio I don't want more money. I just want to be more creative".[3] Rodriguez picked some visual effects companies who were eager and less established, as well as starting up his own Troublemaker Studios, and reemploying Hybride, who had worked with him on the first film.[4]Gregor Punchatz, the film's lead animator, employed a certain technique to make the movements of the computer generated creatures resemble the stop-motion work of filmmaker Ray Harryhausen,[3] who has a cameo in the film.[5] The scene with the army of live skeletons was shot on a real rock formation, with the two young actors on safety wires,[6] and the computer generated skeletons added later to over three dozen shots.[6]

Upon release, Spy Kids 2: The Island of Lost Dreams received mostly positive reviews from critics. It currently scores a 74% "Certified Fresh" approval rating on the review aggregate website Rotten Tomatoes with an average rating of 6.6/10. It also has a 66/100 rating on Metacritic. The site's critical consensus reads: "Though the concept is no longer fresh, Spy Kids 2 is still an agreeable and energetic romp."[2]

Roger Ebert gave the film 3 out of 4 stars and commented, "With "Spy Kids 2: The Island of Lost Dreams," the Spy Kids franchise establishes itself as a durable part of the movie landscape: a James Bond series for kids.[7]Kenneth Turan of the New York Times gave it 4 out of 5 stars said, "The movie is a gaudy, noisy thrill ride -- hyperactive, slightly out of control and full of kinetic, mischievous charm."[8] Lisa Schwarzbaum of Entertainment Weekly wrote, "The antics are a tad more frantic, and the gizmos work overtime, as if ... Robert Rodriguez felt the hot breath of el diablo on his neck. On the other hand, the inventiveness is still superior and the network of fiends and family is extended."[9] Michael Wilmington of Metromix Chicago, noting how Rodriguez borrows many elements from television and earlier films, stated that, "Rodriguez recycles and refurbishes all these old movie bits with the opportunistic energy of a man looting his old attic toy chest -- but he also puts some personal feeling into the movie. This is a film about families staying together, children asserting themselves and even, to some degree, Latino power".[10]

The film grossed $85,846,429 domestically and $33,876,929 overseas for a worldwide total of $119,723,358.[1]

The film was released on VHS and DVD in the United States on February 18, 2003. The film is also available to download on iTunes. A Blu-ray re-release was scheduled for August 2, 2011 to coincide with the fourth film.

The film score was co-written by director Robert Rodriguez and composer John Debney, who had also co-written the score for Spy Kids. The sound is a mix of rock, pop and indie rock, and includes songs performed by Alan Cumming and Alexa Vega. Unusually, the orchestral score for the film was recorded in the auditorium of a local high school in Austin, Georgetown High School.[11]